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KUSA - Steak 'n Shake fans rejoice: the restaurant has no intention of permanently closing its Denver area stores.

9NEWS first reported that Steak 'n Shakes around the Denver metro area had to stop operating under the Steak 'n Shake name immediately as of Sept. 4.

Despite incorrect reports from other media outlets at that time, the Steak 'n Shake corporation never considered the possibility of closing the stores permanently or pulling out of the market altogether. In fact, the steak burger company says it regrets the stores had to close for even a short period of time and that was never their original plan.

9NEWS has recently reported the restaurants would quickly reopen, and that's the current path the corporation is taking. In fact, Steak 'n Shake says they will not only reopen the Centennial and Sheridan locations, they will also aggressively pursue the construction and operation of many additional stores. The original numbers of "11 or 13" additional locations across the metro area do not represent "a big number for the Denver market." According to 9NEWS sources, Steak 'n Shake plans to have an extensive presence in the state.

Sources tell 9NEWS, they have had and will continue to have new store conversations. Contrary reports indicated that those franchisees may have already been part of the Steak 'n Shake family. However, 9NEWS is only aware of franchise operators who currently do not own Steak-n-Shakes.

Steak 'n Shake says it is working with the current landlords of the Centennial and Sheridan properties - who are in complex agreements - to gain control of the properties outright and open the stores as soon as possible.

9NEWS has reported several times that Steak 'n Shake would end up as the eventual owners, and the stores have proven to be immensely popular with sales in excess of $250,000.

Steak 'n Shake also advised 9NEWS on Monday that, upon reopening, the company plans to "do something special" for the community as a result of the inconvenience caused by the recent litigation that forced the stores to close. The company did not to elaborate.